The present invention relates to protection of sensitive data, and more specifically, to methods, systems and computer program products for obfuscating sensitive data in computer output files.
Computer software tools commonly generate output files, including log files. Many such software tools access sensitive data, which could also be replicated or represented in the output files of such software tools. Log files, for example, can be used to track tool operation and can assist with debugging in case of failure. Log files and other output files that contain or reflect sensitive data could call for extra considerations before such files can be provided to personnel for review. For instance, log files containing sensitive information could call for a particular security clearance prior to review, which could limit the available personnel available for debugging and related operations. In addition, sensitive company information might be contained in a log file, which could complicate review of the log file by third party external support teams. Moreover, output files, such as log files, can be lengthy making manual removal of sensitive data cost-prohibitive and time-prohibitive. Also, some software tools are required to not expose any sensitive information in their output files. However testing such software tools to ensure they comply with such requirements is very difficult, potentially resulting in some instances of non-compliance, such as failure to excise sensitive information in error handling messages during the testing phase.